1. Field of the Invention
My present invention relates to digital data storage methods and apparatus, and more particularly to associative digital data storage methods and apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
(The term "prior art" as used herein or in any statement made by or on behalf of applicant means only that any document or thing referred to as prior art bears, directly or inferentially, a date which is earlier than the effective filing date hereof.)
Associative digital data storage methods and apparatus are old and well-known in the prior art. For example, such methods and apparatus are described in the well-known text entitled Computer Data-Base Organization, Second Edition, by James Martin, which was published by Prentice-Hall, Inc., of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., U.S.A., in 1977 (which text will hereinafter be referred to as "Martin"), and particularly in Chapter 36 thereof.
Prior art associative digital data storage apparatus of medium to large storage capacity have in general, however, proven to be either impractically slow, too expensive, or both.